


Apery

by roseltheteacup



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alternate Canon, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Body Horror, Clones, Existential Crisis, Gen, Illustrations, Past Character Death, Psychological Horror, Self-Hatred, Violence, and autistic, cool chapter's worth of concept art at the end eyyyy B), he's doing big boy things, hop is depressed, hop is sonia's lab assistant, i think lol i guess they are, i wanna write more horror, let hop say fuck, minor characters are original characters, one year timeskip i gotta mention, or at least disturbing stuff, spoiler alert: he swears, these tags are a mess they're out of order i'm sorry, they're both relevant headcanons i swear, violence with blunt objects but there is some blood, written before the dlc but it doesn't change much of the canon?? wow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25012105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseltheteacup/pseuds/roseltheteacup
Summary: Hop and Sonia visit the secluded Genome Institute deep within the Crown Tundra in search of wishing stars. Hop is left alone to roam, and it's up to him to find out the truths about this place - and maybe even truths about himself, too.
Relationships: Dande | Leon & Hop, Hop & Sonia (Pokemon)
Comments: 52
Kudos: 94





	1. Investigation

"So are you ready to get moving?" Sonia calls out to her young assistant. Closing the trunk of their vehicle and adjusting her parka, she strolls up to him.

"Mm-mh!" he pats his face with both hands. "Phew, it's chilly. Guess we'll warm up if we get moving though, right?"

"Right! We've got a walk ahead of us, so don't go running off and wasting all your energy."

"Pfft- you say that like it's easy to run in these things", Hop retorts and chuckles lightly into the cold air.

The two of them have taken a trip out to the Crown Tundra on what is essentially a glorified business trip. Ever since the Eternatus incident, ironically more empathsis was put on dynamax research. Be it in larger institutions like the one they where visiting today, or small labs built amongst pleasant towns and rolling fields of rural Galar. This particular lab didn't necessarily have an abundance of wishing stars, but where just more than happy to supply Wedgehurst's own lab with some. The Genome Institute was situated deep in the Crown Tundra, a place in which Hop had never been able to visit. Small settlements scatter across the landmass but that's what made this lab oddly intriguing. Perhaps it was the unique climate and conditions that made this laboratory special? He was unsure.  
Overlooking the landscape, everything that isn't flooded with snow is lightly dusted white. The trees they pass, the dirt path they walk on - it's pleasant. Many unique Pokémon species he hadn't seen whilst surveying the Isle of Armour go about their business.  
Their trek takes no less than fifteen minutes, and before they know it they're in front of a modern-looking building clad in shiny metal. It's a far cry from Wedgehurst's lab's cottage-esc appearance, but that must be because of it's insulation - the need to keep the insides warm in the cold climate.  
They climb a small set of stairs up to the entrance. The door has no windows and it's not too well decorated, bearing only a steel banister for the stairs.

"It's nicer looking inside, I'm sure." Sonia rings the doorbell and scuffs her snow-covered boots against the floor whilst waiting for a reply. A few seconds pass. Hop blows some snow off the tip of his nose.

"Hello, how can I help you?" a voice responds.

"Hi! It's Sonia and Hop from Wedgehurst lab. I made an appointment regarding wishing stars?"

"Ah, yes. It says here you're expected - I'll open the door."

What could've been previously mistaken for just another wall now opens, and the two are greeted to a room made for taking their gear off. Being closest to the entrance it's lined with plastic.

Sonia manages to take her own parka off first, seeing as she's had experience in wearing one. "Aw, you still kept your jacket on under that?"

"Hey, quit teasin'... You know I like wearing this." Hop slides his parka off.

"Yeah, yeah. I just don't want you overheating. It's nice and warm in here to combat the outside."

Walking through yet another door, they're greeted with an interior halfway between an office reception and a pretty looking art gallery. Out of all the labs he'd visited to study at this was one of the more homey, decorated places. Outfitted with pea greens and baby blues, it has the same familiarity as a children's hospital. The voice they heard outside turns out to be the receptionist, and they're given directions to their scheduled meeting.

"You don't have to follow me to this if you think it'll be boring, you know?" Sonia turns back to Hop whilst walking.

"Hm? Really? But don't these guys study dynamax like us?"

"Not as much as us. Besides, you really wanna hear us trying to calculate how many wishing stars we can bring back? Tell you what, I'll ask them to whip up a visitor keycard and you can have some fun exploring." She winks.

It wasn't too bad an offer. And thinking about it more, Hop was glad to have been graciously spared from the headache session that would've been just a glorified maths class. Soon enough, Hop is equipped with a visitor's keycard and makes the most of it, wandering about the lab and introducing himself as "Sonia's assistant" to get insights into how a larger institution works.  
It turns out that plenty Pokémon work here too, which wouldn't be an oddity in Galar, but this lab being so far away made it more unusual for some reason. It's not before long that Hop has to step over Shinx and Pikachu whilst roaming the halls.  
The architecture is nothing short of beautiful, as he walks under a glass roof sheltering the insides from the snow, but being clear enough that he can see the light pitter patter of snow sliding off to the sides. It's all sheltering a fairly large ravine of a room, with a glass bridge leading to an elevator. Lost in the view of this place, he doesn't look where he's stepping, and trips over a Shinx who's delivering some paperwork. Stumbling, he thrusts his hands out in front for support and lands on the keycard scanner-

beep.

"Did...I just get it to work?"

Removing his hands and separating his balance from the wall, he looks back in confusion.

"Huh?? Why'd that work... I've seen scientists do that hand scanny thing so is this one just broken?"

Rambling onto himself, there's a light cough beside him, and he's beckoned into the elevator by a woman before the doors close. She's already picked floor -1, so he stays put.

Fiddling with the fur lining of his jacket, he looks up to the woman.

"Um. Hey, do these visitor keycards have any restrictions??" He waves his lanyard around for empathsis.

"Oh, floors 0 to -3 are open to you. I take it you're here to study?"

"Thanks! And yeah, kinda, just killing time while waiting on somebody." He puts his arms behind his head. "Ah. Any cool stuff on this next floor?"

The woman mouths a reply, but no sound reaches him. All sound grows dim, and white noise fills his eardrums.  
The more he thinks about it, the louder it gets. It becomes worse. The woman doesn't notice.  
Something worse than white noise hits Hop. A sharp, screeching sound, emanating from above. He looks around frantically. It's from outside of the elevator shaft. Mixed radio signals, worse than layers of metal scathing over one another. The woman doesn't hear it.  
It's loud and it's irritating and it's scary and it's making him nauseous. It's something trying to drill it's way into his brain and stay there forever. He feels sick. He holds the sides of his head and his vision becomes shakey. He tries to regain his balance but waves of queasiness threaten to throw him across the floor. He gets down on his knees. The woman notices him. She crouches down to look at him but she can't help him and these feelings just keep getting worse and he feels like he's getting lightheaded.

Before he knows it he's planted face-first onto the hard metal floor and the elevator doors open, and multiple employees oversee it and arrive to dote on him.

\--

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

His head hurts. Pulling himself to wake up, his eyes focus on nothing in particular. Hop's somewhere different, he's not sure where. But he feels awfully groggy, the concussion he gained earlier not making it any better.

He's about to slip back, eyelids feeling heavy, but is waken up by a tugging sensation on his shirt and something cold brushing just underneath his breast. Jolting up he's met face to face with someone in hospital gear, a doctor. They remove their hand. 

"Aye-!" He pulls his shirt back down over his navel.

"Ah, you're awake! That's good." 

Hop pouts. "You don't just do that without permission..." 

Readjusting in their office chair, the doctor sets their stethoscope on a nearby table. "Right, sorry... you gave us quite the scare with that concussion there." Hop sits up cross-legged, yawning, on what he now recognises as a hospital bed. The fluffy bedding is decorated in designs that make it evident this is a room for a child. He drowsily takes a look at his surroundings. His jacket and bag are hung up next to the bedside. A wall of screens makes up his right side, monitors with various readings like a heart rate meter, and pictures - ones of hair, eyes and... his birthmark of all things? Wait, were these images of him?   
Scratching the back of his neck, he opens his mouth to ask a question-- but the door slides open. A man dressed in a lab coat walks in from the left. The doctor shakes his hand and greets him.

"Awfully sorry, we need to introduce ourselves. This is Clem, head researcher of our division. And I'm Bud, I'm a pediatrician." The doctor gestures to each of them lightly and smiles. Clem slips his hands into his lab coat pockets and perches on the bedside table. 

"I had to come over as soon as I was done with work, it's been a while since we last spoke with a patient!" 

"It's...rare they come back to visit us at all, actually" Bud fiddles with their glasses and looks down. 

"What? Patient--?" Hop shakes his head, confused. "I came here- with a friend- where's Sonia?" It was strange she hadn't run over to check on him, he thought. 

Bud opens their mouth for a second, then stops, closing it again. They glance at Clem with an awkward expression, almost looking for help. Clem gestures to continue. Bud turns to Hop again. "You're under the age of 18 but- you still have the right to speak on your own. Everything behind these doors can be confidential if you want it to be." 

Hop shakes his head again, even more confused. "You're...not my doctor? I don't know you-- you're not the same person I saw when I was like 9 and sprained my ankle from jumping off the garage thinking a plastic bag would make me fly."

"They've been letting you do what-?!" Bud initially reacts, but then calms down, hands up in front of their body. They're clearly distressed. Clem turns Bud around with a hand on their shoulder. Hop watches with furrowed brows as Bud waves their hands around frantically and Clem responds in a lower tone. 

"But he-- 15...you-- does he know--??" 

"Don't know-- fault? Sorry--" 

Some words don't register to Hop as they're whispering. He keeps his eyes squinted suspiciously. All of this is weird at best and unsettling at worst.   
They turn back around when they're done bickering. 

"Sorry about that, Hop. I suppose we have a lot of information to go over, then?"

"I...never told you my name." Hop says, the most awake he's been so far. 

"Hm? Ah-"   
Bud reaches to cover their mouth.

"I'm sorry, I gotta-- I gotta call someone-" Hop reaches out for his jacket, where he keeps his rotom phone. While leaning over he feels a pulling sensation against his head, and tugs free of it. This head. It was- connected to a number of wires, suction-cupped to his forehead.   
This is weird. This was all weird. Unsettling-- the graphs, the pictures, this person claiming to be his doctor like he's one of their patients--

I need to leave. 

Grabbing and pulling out the rest of the wires much to Bud's dismay, Hop reaches for his bag instead and throws it at the doctor, tipping their office chair over and tripping Clem over in the process. He wadds up his bedsheets and throws it onto them, trapping them under it. He makes a break for it. Grabbing his jacket and hopping off his bed, he slides against the glossy floor with his socks. Pulling each arm through the jacket's sleeves he jumps over the two squirming underneath the sheets and forcefully shoves open the door. This surge of adrenaline only gets him so far. Soon enough his balance becomes wonky and he's struggling to run in a straight line. His head hurts. But he runs in a random direction, hoping to someway find Sonia and get out of here. 

Two voices from behind him call out his name. "Hop! Please, we can talk about this!!" 

Despite feeling progressively more queasy, Hop still manages to outrun both Bud and Clem. He scoots across the floor with his socks and narrowly avoids both workers and pokémon. Soon enough, he arrives back to the elevator he visited previously and the bridge that proceeds it. 

Shit. I'm cornered. 

He considers running to the elevator, but that could just lead him to passing out again in there. What do I do. What do I do?! 

Clem arrives first, adjusting his tie and slowly approaching Hop, keeping his hands out in a non-threatening way. Hop takes a few steps back. Bud comes over, panting and leaning over after running, glasses barely hanging onto their face. They catch their breath. 

"Hop we don't want to hurt you! You've just been away for so long- it- it's been 15 years you have to understand--!!" 

"You're crazy!! I've never seen you people before in my life!" Hop takes more steps back, back now to the banister of the bridge. He clings onto it. 

More people take notice of what's happening. Hop prays and hopes Sonia is close and comes to help, but it never happens. Clem walks up closer and Hop squirms in place, kicking at the glossy floor. 

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!" He yells. And pushes. And slips. 

He tumbles over the banister. Screams and gasps from every spectator fill the large room. Clem makes one last attempt to catch Hop's hand, but ends up only swiping at the air. 

  
Hop descends. 

Further. 

And further. 

Still further. 

  
Into the depths. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo it's me!! rosel eyy I'm back at it again  
> I got inspired to write an au this time, credit goes to my pal Bezna for the idea!  
> I'm really not used to writing multi chapter fics since my motivation is always over the place and I find it hard to sit down and write one idea and be invested in it but this time I actually have this fic planned out!! So it'll hopefully be easier.
> 
> OH and in case ya'll want some atmospheric music to go with this fic, then I recommend Sleep by HOME. It's a bop.
> 
> Bye for now!!


	2. Manufacture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hop finds himself in an unfamiliar place at an unfortunate time, but at least he's got company. Perhaps even...unwelcome company?

His hands reach out to touch the cold, hard floor. Propping himself up, Hop looks around. He scratches his forehead and finds a rather large bandaid. He sinks his hand into the cotton. That must've been from the first time he passed out. He could really use another one. 

"...This stinks."

He looks up. It's...a miracle he even survived the fall. He can barely make out the large glass roof above. He remembers the snow, and how it's a lot colder down here than up there.

"So I'm alone... with my thoughts..."

...

"Great...can't this day get any more rubbish?" 

Lamenting in silence for a few seconds, he hears a small audible cough. Something robotic in nature. He gasps - Rotom! He prays he didn't fall on his phone and break it. 

"Rotom! It's me, Hop!", he takes the phone out of his breast pocket and shakes it about. Rotom wakes up soon enough and floats out of Hop's hands. It's a sleek dark blue, so he can't really distinguish it from the dim lighting in the room. It's eyes and mouth only being illuminated. Hop gets up on his feet to reach Rotom's level. 

"Are you okay, Rotom?" 

" _BZZT!_ Awake! I'm awake! You didn't sleep on me too hard." 

"I'm real sorry about that, promise-- Rotom, can you call Sonia?" 

That was his original plan. He hopes that at least now he'll have lots of time, being separated from those scientists. But what to stay to Sonia? Oh hey I just fell several tens of feet under the lab can you come pick me up? Would there even be an elevator down here? Wouldn't there be an emergency stairwell--

"No service!" 

"Huh? Wait, seriously?" Hop responds in awe. I mean, it makes sense why there wouldn't be, but... 

Ugh. This _really_ stinks. I guess...we're going to have to go looking for help. Any help at all... 

"I'm not exactly chuffed about meeting those guys again, but we don't really have a choice..."

He looks forward into the dark corridor stretched out before them. It's long, far enough so he can't see the end. Dim lights illuminate the bottom of the walls in lines and the occasional circular lamp is built into the walls. Hop huffs and Rotom floats out in front. 

"Let's get moving! I may be at full charge but I bet the Professor is worried sick!" 

"Heheh, you sound like me! Yeah, come on." He answers back, reassured. Hop pushes up his jacket sleeves and gets to running down the corridor with Rotom by his side. 

\--

It had to have been at least 15 minutes until Hop and Rotom reached anything. By that point his legs had begun to get tired anyways. Hop's drive to keep moving even in bleak situations impresses even himself sometimes. They reach a large metal door at the end of the corridor, an ID scan is to it's right. Hop looks for the keycard he was given. It's not on his person. He checks all his pockets. It's not here.

"They must've taken it off me earlier.... shoot..."

He furrows his brows and thinks for a second. Then remembers. He holds up his right hand and looks at his palm. He stares in disbelief for a while. 

He reaches out for the scanner, he places his hand on it. 

_Blip!_

It opens. 

And Hop retracts his hand in surprise. 

"I did it again...?" 

The door cranks and squeaks a little before opening with puffs of dust and smoke. This place hasn't been visited in a long while. Hop's too preoccupied in looking over his hand and flexing it and looking it over again. 

"Did they give you permission to do that?" Rotom swerves in, curiously. 

"I don't think so?? Ugh." 

Something about it annoyed him. Sure, it was a neat little trick, but in a place as coordinated as this it felt too convenient. And that wasn't even putting it together with what Bud said... 

Whatever. We've gotta keep moving. 

Looking up and stepping in, Hop's a little overloaded. Bookcases and screens are the walls of this place. There's a metal island in the middle of the room with a keyboard. The exit door is directly parallel to the entrance, accompanied by the same hand scanner most of these doors seem to have. It has a different energy to that of the hospital room though, that felt more like...a collection of evidence. This was a place for research. And that reminded him of the lab back in Wedgehurst. The room is lit with light turquoise ceiling lights. Despite how old this place appears to be it's still functioning. The door closes shortly after Hop and Rotom enter. 

"They keep all this material down here?? And Sonia's always telling me not to take our resources for granted..."

Hop and Rotom take their time walking around and scanning over the various books on display. The bookshelves are in alphabetical order, they share common themes. Books on genealogy and epigenetics, it's all rather interesting. 

And easy getting distracted. 

While browsing through the second shelf, Hop walks in front of the island in the middle. He's startled as it turns on. A transparent floating screen appears at eye level above the keyboard, and the grooves of the keyboard light up and the keys become visible, almost begging him to type something. 

Hop furrows his brows and pouts. "If they're allowed to snoop into my business then I'll just snoop into theirs!" 

He cracks his knuckles over the keyboard and presses keys at random in a keysmash to test the functionality. It works just fine. A few search terms appear at random, but he's only able to retrieve 3 out of the 4 terms by back-spacing. It's not too bad, the searched articles look promising. 

_Your search - asbsbmwnnedoiwiej - did not match any documents._

_Suggested documents:_

_> Ambertwo _

_> Mewtwo _

_> Dolly (wooloo clone) _

As much as the little Sonia in the back of his head begged him to start from the top, an article on Mewtwo looks far too interesting to pass up. Hop fondly remembers Leon's scribbled notes on Mewtwo in a number of his childhood notebooks. "The ultimate pokémon!", as he referred to it. Well, I suppose that would be up for debate now that the Eternatus incident was documented. Unsure of how to select the article, Hop just taps the screen itself. It works. 

"Mewtwo, huh? Let's see..." 

Hop leans in and squints slightly, murmuring the information presented onscreen. "Cloned 25 years ago on New Island, Kanto...after a Dr. Fuji's research team found a single eyelash supposedly belonging to the mythical pokémon Mew... and privately funded, huh...? And it's theorised to be related to species of ditto?" 

" _bzzt!_ You could've asked me about Mewtwo, you know..." Rotom appears behind Hop, clearly mildly upset. 

"Ah, sorry buddy. Slipped my mind, haha..." 

Rotom doesn't look convinced, but motions towards another article linked onscreen. Ambertwo. 

"Amber...two? That like, a person? I know I'm not much to talk, but.... not a very creative name, huh." 

He clicks on the link. There isn't much information available, not even an image attached to the article. 

"A supposed failed clone...of a girl who died when she was only 8 years old...and daughter of that same Dr. Fuji who was last seen on New Island 25 years ago?"

"These events seem to be connected! _bzzt!_ "

"It definitely seems that way? Call me a hypocrite, but if the Mewtwo stuff was supposed to be privately funded I'm not sure they wanted people snooping into their business.... Ugh, what's with these people? Of course they've been snooping into my business - they're snooping into everyone's business!" 

He suspects espionage, but these people might have just acquired this information the same way they could've his medical documents. Hop sweats a little. He hasn't been here for long and it already feels like he's overstaying his welcome. Suddenly, Rotom yelps and Hop is thrust out of his concentration. A cold silence falls over the room. He turns in the same direction Rotom is facing - the door. Sweat drips down his back as he freezes in place. He bites his lip in anticipation.

_Clank._

_Thump._

Is there...something on the other side?

Abandoning the keyboard, Hop slowly backs away from the door. His eyes are still fixated on it. He can't look away. If he took his eyes away for even a second, he'd surely be attacked. 

There's audible slapping sounds. It's something with skin, that's for sure. 

Hop keeps backing up. He's startled when something presses up against his back. It's a wall. Or, rather, the door he saw before. Practically slamming his hand against the scanner in a panic, it opens and he rushes inside with Rotom. 

Breathing a sigh of relief once it locks behind him, he collapses next to the door. His head falls back. It feels nice against the cold metal. He closes his eyes for a moment. 

Phew... 

"Okay.... it's okay...."

... 

"We've gotta keep moving... right, Rotom?" 

... 

There's no reply. 

"Rotom?", Hop opens his eyes. He's caught off guard by what he didn't get to see on the way in. 

It's a dark room, yet aquamarine lights make it hard for his eyes to adjust. Rotom, who was previously just as aghast as Hop, floats by at eye level and turns on the phone flashlight. 

Human-sized test tubes, was the only way he could possibly describe it. Each at least five foot in height, all lit up and lined up in rows, each supported by metal stands. It's... a surprisingly spacious room with walking space between each tube. This room was clearly planned with observation in mind. It reminds him of a factory setting, where a product would be produced in batches. But that familiarity definitely doesn't stop his breath and sweat going cold. His mouth remains agape. His eyes wide. 

"What.... _is_ this....?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey!! this chapter was shorter than the first but i hope ya'll still like it! i've got a feeling most chapters will be unbalanced and not really the same length :') i don't tend to take word counts into consideration when writing the plot for each chapter lol but it's not gonna effect the end product too badly
> 
> thanks for reading!!


	3. Peculiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hop discovers the reason this place is hidden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Just checking into say that this chapter's graphic SLAPS and I'm very proud of it. I've finally gotten that pseudo 3-dimensional effect I wanted I am so HAPPY.

He sits there, against the cold, hard metal of the door.

Just. Trying to wrap his head around what he was seeing. What it _means._

Surely, the previous information on cloning and experiments presented to him back in that pleasant little library-- he didn't think what it was describing would- would be so.... close.

Rotom is already exploring, and Hop's legs decide he needs to get up, so he does. Hop finally starts to take steps forward. Each tank is empty, but given that unexpected visitor in the previous room, it wouldn't surprise him if a creature of some sort were to break out of one of these at any given moment. Well- it WOULD surprise him. Because that would be terrifying. 

He walks through the first and second rows. The lights. They're strangely beautiful... they remind him of the lava lamp he only owned for about a month before he smashed it when training with Wooloo in his room. That familiarity is truly dissonant against the vibes he gets off this place, though. 

As much as he doesn't want to, he thinks. 

"Human-sized....cloning? Wh- human cloning? Here?? That girl-- what was her name..." 

"Ambertwo! _bzzt!_ " Rotom calls out from behind a row of tubes. 

Right.

There were no images attached to that article, but he was sure of what he was seeing. Whatever it was that was being cloned in here- pokémon, humans... 

"Seems like I was right, those guys were snooping about in Kanto...and to replicate the technology here?" 

Curiosity gets the better of him. He pouts and storms off towards a lit display screen in front of one of the tubes. He feels so sympathy towards snooping now. This is their fault. He has to know what's going on or his brain won't ever shut up. Walking away with Sonia in the snow, back to their car, without ever knowing the meaning of this place? 

Yeah, _right._

More reading, he can deal with that. He taps the display. 

"Pepin No.89.... last updated 15 years and 9 months ago." 

> _The first successful attempt. This subject has been in the incubation period for 8 consecutive months and has shown no signs of deformation or disfigurement. 4 more weeks are required for dispatch. This patient will be released shortly. It may just be the perfect replica, and our last chance._

The Pepin Project? With 88 failures... guess I'm not much to talk, though. 

"Pepin? Is that like... a project name, or a person? They'd steal Kanto's cloning techniques but...the naming conventions? Huh." 

He reads it again. And again. And his mouth runs dry. Patient. 15 years ago. 

Bud's plea before he fell down. Into this abyss. It haunts him in that moment. And the next. It will forever, until he gets out of here. He'll be safe outside. With Sonia. 

It's time to stop. I don't like this...

I need to leave.

Like the impending anxiety ready to shatter his breathing, the lights flicker. Each and every tube flashes on and off like faulty LEDs. Something's fizzling in the background.

Shock flares through Hop's legs and he steps back.

"R-Rotom?" He calls out.

A happy little buzz sounds behind him.

"Rotom... can you check out the lighting?"

"Of course! I'll go check on it! _bzzt!_ " Rotom swerves away, probably back to that control panel by the door. 

He never liked the sudden flashing of lights. Never coped well. He wasn't epileptic, but this was enough to scare him.

Gripping onto the fluff of his jacket sleeves, he takes a few shaky breaths. It's okay, he repeats as cold sweat forms on his forehead.

We can keep moving. Come on.

He turns to his right, out into where he had walked before. There, in-between the tubes.

_Smush._

He's stepped on something.

Something cold. Something soft. Noisy. Wet. Small.

He's wearing only socks, he can feel it pulsate beneath him.

He represses the urge to vomit. It's an eyeball.

An eye. Looking right at him. 

What the fuck.

What the _fuck._

_This wasn't here before. This wasn't here before what is going on. Why is this here. It's far from rotten, it's far from even being **bloody.** This is strange and uncanny and gross and I want to get out of here. **I NEED TO LEAVE.**_

The lights flicker once more, and there stands the shadow of a figure, right in front of him.

**"̴̧̨͚͇̲̥͚̥͍͍͍̹̗̞͚̩̦͉͕͇̏͗͌̓̈́̋̄͑̍͗̕̚͠T̷̡͓̘̥̠͈͇̪͙̠̈́̌̾̿͜H̵̼̠̠͈̪̞͈̰͉̑̇́̂̿͌̐͛̔̎́̍͗͘̚̕͘A̶̻̭̫̾T̸̻̜͎̺̥̮̝̝̣̣͇̰̣̬͙͒͜͜ͅ'̷̧̳̮̟̖̊̓̋̀͠ͅŞ̷͈̹͓̜̮͉͓̝̓͜ ̷̞̣͈͓̝̹̬̠̳͑̔̀̇̉̊̀̏̎̑̒́̕͘̕͠͠O̴͓̜̯̼̬̱͖̱̟͕̘̤̐̈̽̿̽̎̂͗̕͘̚͜ͅÛ̵̢̯͉̝̹̣̰̬̖̜͔͙͇̰͈̙͌̆̇͘Ŗ̶̨̖̹͍̜̫̥̓̒͠S̸̜͍̩̲̲̜̗̲̥͓͎͚̺̟̗͖̟̩̐̿͜͝ͅͅ"̶̡̡̧̫̺̺͉̠̬͈̯̞͈̥̺̃͂̽̆͂̈́̎͗̅̅̅̈́̋͋̃̑̏̈́͝**


	4. Emerge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This place is too close for comfort.

It appears in a wave of TV static. Words, barely forming a coherent sentence. Hop's still fixated on the eyeball, blood running cold. He looks up.

He's slammed violently against the wall behind him. Fingers wrap around his neck. They tighten around his throat, squeezing out all of the air in his lungs. He's lifted high off the ground. He kicks. He squirms. He grips onto the misshapen arm trying to choke him half to death but he can only grab onto exposed muscle and protruding bone. He must sound awful, his throat's gone dry and only rough gasps and squeals leave his lips. His left eye twitches closed and he can barely make out the shadowy figure below. The lights still flicker from both sides. The one assaulting him is lit dimly. It's a mess. Someone unidentifiable, calloused skin cakes areas where it shouldn't. Hop feels like a security camera desperately trying to identify an intruder. Both appearance-wise and verbally, if you could even call it that.

Hop's ears feel like they could burst. White noise from the loudest radio imaginable, projected through a megaphone. Being blasted right into his face. Broadcasted directly into his brain. He can't tell if this is just what being on the cusp of death feels like, or if the thing in front of him was really making this amount of noise. Surely it'd be enough to shatter the glass all around them and shake the very foundations of this place. All while this creature looks at Hop like a young child would a Joltik, contemplating whether to burn or inspect said bug with a magnifying glass. 

A flash, brighter than the flickering backdrop, makes it's way into his peripherals. He's dropped onto the ground and falls to his hands and knees. There's no sound, but Hop bets he sounds like a mess of coughing and spluttering. He looks up to see a familiar face.

"Rotom..." Hop mouths.

He comes to soon enough, and stands up. The flickering has stopped.

"That Discharge must've fixed it! _bzzt_ \- Are you okay?!" Hop can hear that little nagging voice again.

"I'm... I'm okay..." His reply is hoarse as he rubs his throat.

The... thing that attacked him remains broken, scattered across the metal ground. There's no time for relief to settle in Hop's chest, however, as the creature's components crawl over one another and twist and merge and connect into something resembling a human form. Hop feels like he could vomit whilst watching it. It stands in front of him, then bends over to pick up the eyeball on the floor. Fully lit by the glowing turquoise test tubes. It's an _abomination._

Covered in eyes and hands and patterns and organs not supposed to even be visible. It's skin is mismatched at the seams of its muscles, that are all of a dark skin tone. It slouches, but it's the same height as Hop. Other smaller meat piles scoot over around it's feet. They appear to be what this thing is made up of, but they could also be like it's babies or something. 

Hop's utterly speechless, yet the only thing within the realm of comprehensibility is-

"D... Ditto?"

They're related to cloning, thought to be related to Mewtwo. It's the only thing he can logically deduce from this. But these things... they're not purple, and they were making a terrible racket. 

"Ditto! The transform pokémon..."

Rotom pauses.

"That.... _bzzt,_ is certainly not it."

"Then what... _ARE_ THESE??

It just stands there. He can tell it knows he's staring. The many golden eyes covering it's body gaze over Hop's figure at the same time. He watches, mesmerised, as the creature in front of him grows a face on top of the meat pile you'd call it's head-- a blank expression, in Hop's own likeness. It doesn't miraculously grow eyeballs in place, but keeps it's pseudo-face all skin tone.

_It's sickening. Maybe it thinks this is funny._

It stands in place, then opens his arms in an odd display of acquiescence. It's giant swollen arms reside by it's sides. The blobs beneath it's feet do not move. Another surge of nausea hits Hop as he struggles to listen to the static building up in his ears. He squeezes his eyes shut and holds his head, fingers pulling at his hair as to somehow stop the spinning whilst he covers his ears. The noise doesn't stop. And Rotom eyes Hop with a strange worry.

Something cold touches his neck.

It immediately snaps Hop out of his nausea as he grabs whatever it is, twirling around and throwing it to the ground. It's another chunk of meat.

He looks back into the test tube behind him to check for any damage. His self is reflected in the glass. And he spots it. The patch of dark skin on his lower neck. It's always been there, it's a birthmark after all.

But he's seen his pattern before. Somewhere recently. Too recently.

Hop whips his head back to face the creatures. His breathing gets caught in his throat. His heart rate accelerates.

"N-No.... That's not true."

The creature tilts its head.

"It's not. No it's not. _It can't._ "

The patterns struggling to take form on the monster's muscles. The warped markings. They all bare a resemblance to the one stamped ever so neatly on his skin.

He stares in utter disbelief.

"W̴̧͉̞̉̎̈́e̴̫͛̑̈́͒ ̵̥̓̒̍h̶̝̘̖̣̆̓́ą̷̩͖̠͊͋v̶̰͖̍̍e̵͎̜̒͒ ̷̹̯͆b̷̘̔̑͛͘ẽ̵̠̆͘͘e̸̱̖͙͆ṉ̸̫̤̅͒̓̚ ̸̘͕̦̮̀̕w̵̧̡̐̓͗ą̴̨͕̄̀̆í̶̛̬͝t̶̰͖͛i̴̛̼̙n̷̜̣͙̣͑͌̇g̶̜̫̟͛͂.̴͖̩͉̣̑ ̵̤̙̍̈͒͜F̷͖̔̕͝͝o̷͎̦̼͠ṙ̴̡̻͖̩ ̵̬̯̠̌͗̀y̸͚̤̎ò̵̧̘̫̳̔͘ụ̶̡͚̲̂.̵̙͕͌̑"

No...

"̶̧̤̠̲̅̔̽T̶͎̲̮̍ơ̵̜̜ ̸̟̦̈́̈́̓r̷̻̃ȩ̶̥̜̂̽͂a̴̛̲͉̝̅͗l̴̙̭̖̪̈́į̵̛͈̈́̿s̵͖͆̌̕̕͜e̸͚̱̎̂.̵̮́͜͜"̴̱̰̙͓̃̓

No no.

"̵̤̬̝͇͇̔̓̈́͗W̸̢͚̅͐̽̎̌̅ę̶̼͚̱̥̽̓͋̕ ̴̡̘̬͚̼̻̈́̉̌̓̈́a̸̢̗̖̥̬͉͙̘̥̻͍͔̗̅̈̂̈́̃̅͐͑͋̚̕͠͠r̷̦̗̜̳̙̱̐̀͛́̈́̿̍̈̈̈́̎̚ḝ̴̘̄̂.̸̳̩̄ ̷̡͎͓̱͇̣͖̩̼̩̰̝͍͊͆̔̉̓̾̈̕̚͠͝Â̸̗̗̟̳̮͒̈́̄͑̎͒̚̕̚͝l̷͍̹͔̼̜̯̘̦̗̠̝͇̓́̊̏̏͌͒̕ļ̵͔̞͉͉̦͚̰̫̲̞̜͈̉̀̒̀̈́̆͋̋̂̈́̚.̴̢͓̲̻͖̗̮̦̑̉͂̚͜"̶͚̱̤͚̤͖͙̮̯̟̮̆̍͒̕ ̶̛̛͎̥̮́̇̆͛̊̀͆

no no no...

"̵̡̛̤̫̙͓͙̙̩͔̞̪͓̣̠̠͔̬̩̫̹̈́̍̾̍̅̾͂͋͋͐̎͐͐͐̚͘͠͝͝S̸̛͓͍̪̪̜̟̥̹̭̻͙̖͋̄̆̊͆̆͛̀̐̇̔̄͝a̶̡̻̺̱͉͙̠̗̜͈̐̄̌̆́͌͛̃̔̃̉̆̌̇̓͐͝m̴̡̥̙̙̪̱̒͒ ̶̡͕̠̝̥̬͍̰̝̟̝̰͉̗̠͕̗̤͖̓̐̀̇̀̆̐̽͘ę̷̡̜̯̣̹̖̗̘͙͍͒̏̾̓ͅ.̵̨̨͈̞͈̝͐̃̐͋͝

no no no no no

"̶̛̪̠̃̋͒̊͐̈͐̎̓̆̈͌̂̌̊̒̓̃͐́̈́͊̈́̾̈̅̚̚̕̚͠͝͠Ṯ̴̡̛̱̮̫̱͖̼̭͍͇͖͉̩͕͎̫͇̲͚̰͓̰̣͕͎͙̯̹̺͎̳̫̼̳̮̈́̾͑͒̀̆́̔̉̿̍̐͊̅̂̒̈̄̄̍̐̈́̈̏͂̽̓̈͗͂͋͛͊̎͌̅͊̽͛̀̌̔͂͝͝h̶̢̡̧̨̧̨̜̘̰͇̳̠̯̫͉̬͇̙̙̳̖̫̺̦͈̟͙̥̹͇̫̗̞̳̼̮̝̻̩͇̞̹͕̝͚͉͈͈͍̦̥̺͔͇̖̍̊̎̈͆́̀̏͊̾̎͜͝ͅē̷̡̨̧̨̡̨̡̧͖̲̦͇̜̰̥͎̣̮̝͔̝̪͎͙͔͔͔̻͔̥̭͕̹͖͈̹͕̬͚̫͕͂̂̍͊̂͛̄͒̑͋̔̆̑̅̅̆͆͊̐́̃̈̔́͋̏̈́͒͋̈̿̑̏͆͂͒̀͂͋́̌̃͘͘̕͘͝͝͠͝͠͠͝͝ ̴͔̼̝̳̩̝͎̟͇̟̹̭̮͓̙͇̩̠͈̗̺̹̼̻͎͖̯̤̖͔̱̰͍͈͎͈̘̲̜̳̤͍̱̱͚̻̦͇̫̩̋̉̐̒̇̑̃̈͒̽̋͗̈̓̊͐͋̓ͅs̵̡̻̗͎̭͇̜̘̣̲̥̭̳̞͉͈͕̩̘͉͙̥͓̯̻̓̑̑̍̂̏́̌͛̏͜͜͝͝ͅͅͅͅã̴̩̯̗̫̯̥̈́͆͌̇͊̇̒͗͋̓̒̑̓̎̑̄̎͑͛̅̕̚͘m̶̧̨̛̛̛̩̰̹̯̲̠̩̞̗̣̞͇̙̙̙̜̳̻̼̼̙̭̰̻̞͓̗͉̘̩̗̹̫̼͕̈͋̾͊̔̽̏̈́͋̔̽̿͋̆͗̉̋͊̽̌̔͒̊̏̒̂͋̋͋̌̿̀͗̐͌̔̀̑̄͆̊̚̚͠͠͠͝͝ͅe̷̡̧̢̡̢̡̨̨̢̡̨̡̨̢̧͕̗͈͓̩̮͖͓͉͖͍͇̜̣̜̥̰͇͉͉̗̫̲̳̫̥̻̼͖̝̻͖̹͉̺̹̰̮̜̰̥̼̦̩̯͚̦̎͒̈́̎̏̊̌͜͜͜͝ͅ !̸̨̥̜͔̫͚̗̺̻̲̟̩̘̙͂̃̿̎͆̋̊̈̀̆͂̄̈́͘͘͝͝͝ͅ"̵̡̨̨̡̧̠̦̪̰̣̤̳̼̝̠̘̠͕̝͇̱͉͙͔̪̯̺̦̯̼̝̪͇̜̜̮̣̖̩̟̤͉͙̯̻̤̣͎̰̯̱̮̦̺̼̘̜͙̦͖͉̅̀͗̍͗͊̂̋͆̅̈́̔́̈́̂̈́̾̇̊̂͑͆̉̃͐̎̇̚͜͜͜͝͝͝ͅ ̸̢̡̧̢̛̬̬̹̭̫̖̼͎͔͓͉̪͇͓̣̠̫͈͖̦͈̯̮̻̰̮̗̮̝̟͕̮̬̬̳̳̫͓̩̞͕̜͙̞̭̙̭̤̹̜̥̩̯̔̀̃̄͆̍̓͌̎͐̄́͑͛͗͗͒̕͜͜͝ͅͅ

" **NO!** I'M **NOT**." 

The flickering words are cut with a knife. Their perception is shattered. He refuses. He refuses to believe. He can't. Unless he risk how far he's come. Rotom senses the surge of stress and attacks with another Discharge, knocking each and every monster over. Hop grabs Rotom and runs, jumping and running past piles of flesh, taking no time to scoot across the floor.

They find the exit and lock it from outside. There's no going back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to try my hand at some more body horror, and that graphic, too! I'm fairly proud of the art I'm making for this fic!  
> Thanks for reading :)


	5. Parallel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They can't be one in the same...surely?

He runs.

He runs and runs and runs until he comes to a dead end. A corridor full of scrap metal and bits and bobs. He must have made a wrong turn at some point but he doesn't care anymore. Hop collapses onto his knees and breathes. Out of panic. Out of exhaustion. His throat is horrifically dry but he can only grip the fabric of his sweatpants and stare at the floor, wide-eyed.

It's all a jumble. It makes sense but it doesn't at the same time. His thoughts are a whirlpool and boats and ships of rhyme and reason can't help but collide and destroy one another.

Rotom descends slowly as to not startle the boy cradling himself.

"Back there...there was no noise, but...you were reacting like those things were making sound? _bzzt._ " 

Hop turns to Rotom and furrows his brows. His throat is dry and his voice is squeaky. 

"You... you couldn't hear anything??" 

Rotom shakes from side to side to indicate a "no." 

"And I still can't recognise them as any existing pokémon. Sorry to disappoint... _bzzt..._ " 

Hop turns back to the floor. 

"They were... so loud. Louder than anything else...but nobody seems to hear them but _me_ \- even that lady in the elevator didn't..."

And that symbol is burned into his retinas. Something he's seen no less than a thousand times burned into his skin is melted onto those things. They're the same. _But they can't be the same._ They can't they can't they can't. 

His soul aches. 

He places his forehead against the cold floor and yells. 

"ARGH! I hate this- all of this! I just want to go home, Rotom! This isn't me, it can't be me-!" 

He thrusts a fist down onto the metal. 

"It can't........ I'm..... I'm more than this..." 

The steel chasm lays quiet. The screams of a lost boy echo and deafen.

They silence the area until the striking of metal and pounding upon a door can be heard. An uneven symphony lays waste on the only thing between them and a helpless child. 

And it opens. 

The hand sensor flickers green and the flood gates to what could be another dimension opens. A wave of flesh, now in multiple complexions, marches its way towards them. 

"H-Hop!", Rotoms warns.

He grits his teeth as his head lays rooted against the ground. _Stay away from me.... stay away from me..._

Something boils in his stomach. He feels sick. 

This is **anger.**

He stands to face the one bearing his own face. It's way more repulsive - seeing it for the second time. The lack of respect irritates him. It just stands there, sending another blaring message. 

ỷ̵̩̭̯͠ȏ̴̰̟ũ̶̺̋.̵̫̒̈͝.̷͔̬̗̒.̶̠̈́͑̑ ̵̢̋̓͊y̴̧̓̇o̶͉̼̙̎̎ū̸̮͓͈͒͘ ̵̹́a̴̻̝̗̅͠ṛ̴̈̃e̷̮̅ ̸͉̓͠t̶͎̋i̸͔̓r̴̭͂ȇ̸̡̼̪d̴̹͛̾̑.̷̟͐͝.̵̙͍.̶̛̙̏ ̸̡̙̎̊̋ẉ̸̩̤̚ȩ̴̫̏͒͛.̸̰̹̆.̶̟̘̎̄.̶͔͖̲̚ ̷͍͔̑t̴͖̽͌ị̵͔͚͐ṛ̸̬̞͌̀͠ẻ̴͈̍͝d̴̨͉̠̅́̋.̷͖̫̪͂"̵̲̏̚

Hop clenches his fists. His knuckles ache and ache for something more. 

"I told you.... **TO STAY AWAY FROM ME!** " 

He dives to the side and grabs one of many stray metal pipes laying on the ground and lunges at one of the meat piles, punting it across the room. It's a dull and disgusting sound. 

"Rotom! Attack them with Discharge!" 

Rotom obliges, shooting out sparks of electricity at the creatures that now begin to attack. They jump and pounce off walls at the duo, only to be met with brute force. With every hit and every swing he feels like he's only digging his own grave but this rush of adrenaline tingles his spine and he feels like he has a chance. A fighting chance to get out of here. He pushes past the nausea induced by their words and swings again - at the one with his own face. 

It catches the pipe sideways against it's forearms. They're layered with tough skin and muscle, deflecting the attack with ease. But Hop still pushes. 

"̷̲͎̌y̷̮͋o̶͙͠u̷̝̯͗.̸̤́.̷̺̓̏.̷̗̽̎ ̶̼̣͛s̵̲̲̅͠ù̵̧͈̓p̷̣̀͗p̶̛̼̋o̴̘̪͋͝s̸͖̈́ẹ̸̞̉ḓ̷̈́̅ ̷̘̘̾ṭ̷͆o̷̲̼ ̵̢̨͝b̸͓̼̚e̶̦͇̓ ̴͖̊͗t̶̯̗͑h̷̨͉̃̓ẹ̶͚ ̴̪̓́b̸̪̖͌e̴͔͛̕s̵̖̲̾t̶̻̆!̵̩͌̅ ̷͕͉͋̑B̶̢̏e̸̠̳s̸͔͇͗ť̸̜͇́ ̶̣͎́o̶͚̜̎f̷̻̣͛͆ ̸̖̎͠u̸̲̎s̷͈̍!̵͕̭̂ ̶̨͆A̴̝̺͒l̷̪̠̽̌l̵̰̻̓ ̶̬̼̒͝ǫ̶̥͝f̶̢͚ ̸̧̣͐͝u̸͇̾̉s̶͓͐̈́͜!̸̦͎̊͘"̶̨ ̵̤̏̏ͅ

" **NO!** You're wrong!! I'm not-- I'm more than this- **YOU CAN'T KEEP ME DOWN HERE!!** " 

They struggle and push and toss each other around. Hop grunts and yells through gritted teeth and tears spark at his eyes. He's the only one out of the two with a functioning backbone, but is still thrown back to the floor once the creature jumps up and kicks him in the abdomen. It's a seething pain. His insides are crushed and he can only suck air through his teeth as he writhes on the floor in agony. He clutches his stomach. 

"Of course they'd.... they'd know... _urgh...._ " 

Blood trickles down his lips. His nose is stained red. He must've hit it against the ground as he fell. He extends a shakey hand out onto the ground and slowly rises up to his knees. Hop catches Rotom's attention, and simultaneously all of the lesser beings, too. 

Things come to a standstill, and the creature tosses the pipe across the floor, back in Hop's direction. 

"̶͓̦̒̈́̍͝p̵̞͈̞̻̈̉̈l̷̘̱͇͈͍̔̑̚ë̵͚́ą̶̂̈́̾̓͘s̶͇̯̖̠̼͛̉ȩ̷͉̗̹̲̈́ ̵̪̣̦̘͒̍̇̾̉d̷͇̩͆̊o̵͉͓̜̝͌̈́̊̑n̶̼͓̍̏̇'̵̬̌͛̀̚͠t̸͙̻͔̗̥̆ ̵͍̝͌h̵͔͎͎͓͒̎̆͑ĩ̸̥̟̞̼̇͗̒ͅt̴͖̮̬̜͋̽͜ ̴̻͎̯̒m̷̝̤̦͑͊̄̚͠e̸̢̳̪̽͆̊̀̉ ̶̠̥̩̅̐̑a̶̧͎͕͍͊͝g̸̺̎͂͆̚͘a̷̙̦͆͝ỉ̴̼̩͓͇̥n̷̢̓͜ͅ,̶̢̗̙̠̽̔̀ ̸̛̩͈͂͆̿͝b̶̨͕̪̞̀̈́̑̅r̶̠͇̜͍̓͆ö̸̖̹͇̤̖́͠t̸̫̳̳͍͍͂h̵̤̖̦͉́̈́̌̽e̶̗̰̦͊̋̾͘͝r̴̦̝̯͙̣̆́̈̾

... "Brother."

You can't.... y-you can't... 

You can't call me that. 

You're not _allowed_ to call me that. 

"You're...not the boss of me!" 

He yells back, grabbing the pipe again and supporting himself with it. Rotom returns to him and they look around for something-- _anything._

He spots a vent. One situated at jumping height and already opened, the hinges being torn and... dissolved? 

The fire to keep moving burns within him once more. They both rush to their only escape, their only way out. Hop knocks away a few more stray creatures and clings to the wall. 

"And don't... follow us!" 

He shouts again through ragged breathing and throws his weapon at the creature barely advancing towards them. It hits the ground with a dirty slap and Hop and Rotom dissappear into the void in the wall. 

\--

Hop crawls through the vent, as fast as his arms and legs will let him. They're bruised and dusty but he has to keep moving. He has to. He has to get out. He has to. 

_He has to he has to he has to he has to._

He knows the creatures aren't the fastest but adrenaline still flows deep through his veins and hot breaths coat his incessant mumbling. He crawls long enough for the blood dripping from his nose to dry up and the trail it leaves is only smudged underneath his hands and feet. 

Echoes sound in his ears. 

At first he suspects it's those creatures again, but this isn't giving him a headache. 

Sounds reverberate through the vents. 

Whispers and small talk echo from above. It's... amazing. Like a miniature or- large phoneline. People - _humans!_ They're so close. 

He squeezes himself through the maze of vents, through detours and vertical passages. They're dark and dimly lit by Rotom's flashlight, but it feels all too alike finding the light at the end of a tunnel. He hasn't felt hope like this in hours. 

Then something catches his attention. Small talk, like he'd been hearing before, but.... 

"Ah, so I heard the ex-champion is renovating the Battle Tower!" 

Lee? 

Hop stops crawling, moving back and forth and trying to angle his head to hear the conversation better. Rotom buzzes in dissatisfaction once they stop. 

"How's he doing? Bit strange to be renovating it now, isn't it?" 

"I suppose so... but I heard he's doing great!" 

"That so.... Oh! So that reminds me.... any updates on _him?_ " 

Hop furrows his brows. Who? 

"Oh? Haven't you heard? He came around earlier, heard so from the other guy. There was this huge ruckus too...wish I could've seen it, to be honest." 

"Huh.... though.... I do wonder how the subject is doing." 

"He fell down a-" 

"No- I mean- ugh....How he's _feeling._ " 

Hop leans into nothing in particular, silently urging them to keep talking. 

".... What do you mean?" 

"Like- wouldn't you think the cycle would repeat? Subjects have a drive to imitate their originals." 

"Interesting... come time, then, maybe the Pepin #89 kid will participate in the next cup?" 

"I do believe he goes by 'Hop' now." 


	6. Infect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They should head to the source.

Hop inhales a shaky breath.

Lee... _I'm_... Lee.

He collapses in on himself, sinking into the floor. His arms that were propping him up now hold no strength. He's tuned out the rest of their conversation. It's useless now, anyways.

He stares at the floor, raising his hands into view. They shake. They're weak. Hands like these, that were created to be as strong as Lee?

They're pathetic. _He's_ pathetic.

Bashing and clanging sound behind him, and a cold tendril grabs onto his foot. It sends him flying out of the vent and onto the cold, hard floor beneath the vent. He screams until he hits the floor with a loud thump. All he can do is writhe in agony on the metal floor and wonder if he's broken something. He looks up to see Rotom being knocked across the room in the same fashion he just was.

Rotom hits the floor with force and slides away from Hop. The screen of his phone is cracked, and it flickers until it shuts down.

Hop rests his cheek against the floor in despair. That's all he can do as he can hear those creatures approaching. The ones that were also supposed to be oh-so strong. 

Isn't he truly the best of the worst, then?

The stares at his hand again and laments. You came from this place, and yet it's treated you so harshly. These creatures and him, they're nothing. Nothing to the people that created them. You were born from nothing. Created, from nothing.

It's fitting, isn't it?

His body aches, and his heart still remains sunken into his chest. White noise and familiar static welcome him to these new realisations. But he doesn't care to understand what they're saying.

He's a failure, anyway.

The boy's vision grows hazy. He's ready to melt away until he feels a sharp sting at his feet. Those mutations of flesh and bone cling to his legs and pile on top of one another. It hurts.

It hurts it hurts _it hurts_ and it feels like they're leeching off of him. Be it something tangible like blood or a concept such as life essence. It hurts. He grits his teeth and sucks air through them in response and kicks and moves as much as he can. Fire ignites in his stomach and rattles his ribs but it's too late. It's too late. He claws his way across the floor in agony, pleading, begging them to stop but his throat is drier than ever and he can't speak. He can only scream and heave and gasp air into his unforgiving lungs. 

It's a disgusting family reunion. 

He's changed his mind. He wants answers. He's been given a drive to move and to fight but he's not getting any answers from the ones attacking him. His mind is panicking as it is, even without them screaming at him. 

They whittle down at his senses and pile on top of one another, cramming for space as they inch into his clothes. They move to replicate his pulse. Its revolting. 

Soon enough, tears well up into his eyes until patches of flesh begin to cover his face. They're suffocating him. They're trying to kill him, they must be. He's going to die. He's too panicked to think of his last thoughts. 

He'd die here - where he was brought into this world. He'd be killed by his own kind. 

His head thumps just like his heartbeat, just like- 

The sound of footsteps. 

Rushed footsteps. 

"Hop! _That's_ Hop!!" 

\--

Sonia leads a band of scientists behind her, rushing down the emergency stairs. She isn't sure how long he has left. 

And she's horrified. 

There lies a heap of moving, gnarled flesh. It barely resembles a human, but she can clearly see hands underneath, shaking and reaching out for help. 

Everyone rushes past her. They begin to peel off each layer as she can only look on, absolutely aghast at what she's seeing. 

Hop. _Her_ Hop. Tackled mercilessly to the ground and pinned down and left to rot like some dying animal. 

Sonia clambers to Hop's aid, ripping beings she can't even comprehend off his figure. She isn't even wearing the protective gear the other scientists are but she couldn't care less. 

Hop is broken free. And Sonia props him up into her arms. 

"Hop!! Can you hear me?!" 

She can't help but shake his shoulders. She has to know if he's okay. He has to be okay. If he isn't, she doesn't know what she'll do. 

" **PLEASE!!** " 

Hands cling to her sides. The hopeless child in her grasp holds onto her weakly for a hug. 

_He's alive... he's alive._

She returns his embrace. 

\--

He lays, battling for his own consciousness. 

He wants to sleep, but those voices are so loud. He stirs. 

"... He's a _child,_ and my assistant. We're all bloody lucky he didn't die down there-!"

... 

He fades out. 

"... We tried to explain the situation beforehand but he attacked us? He injured members of staff..." 

Fades out again. 

"... I mean, we're all qualified professors and scientists here, I assume. But leaving those things unmonitored??" 

Fades. 

Tries to wake up. 

"... It's a _huge_ safety hazard, it's... it's-" 

The boy groans. The bickering stops. He sits up on the plush sofa he was previously resting on and rubs his eyes. Sonia, who was leaning over the coffee table, gives him a worried look. Sitting opposite them is Clem. 

He opens his mouth to direct a question at Hop, but Sonia slides her cup of water over to the boy before the man can finish. He closes his mouth, clearly hurt by such rejection. 

Sonia places her hand behind Hop and rubs gentle circles into his back. 

"Are you okay?" 

As much as Sonia silently urges him to take a sip, he only stares blankly into the cup. Ripples make their way through the cupped water as his hands shake slightly. He's awfully pale in the face. And from Sonia's angle, his baggy eyes are even more noticeable. 

He eventually takes a sip. Sonia pats his shoulder lightly and smiles as he does so. 

There's a long silence as the boy quenches his thirst. Clem fiddles about with a pen. Sonia messes with her hair. 

They try not to stare at the boy stuck between all of this. 

Hop finally finishes his drink and places the cup back down. He sighs. 

Sonia turns to Clem. 

"Our business is officially over. If you're ready, I'd like us to leave, Hop." 

She stands up. 

"What?", the boy can't help but let out a raspy response. 

"We're going home."

He stands up and slings his bag over his body and shuffles on his shoes. As they leave the room, he looks back at Clem. The man is slumped over, but slowly looks up at the boy. They share the same complex expression. 

It's sadness, guilt, pity... 

A stubborn goodbye. 

The two tread down the snowy path. Pure white becomes sloshed and mucky under foot. Snow threatens to freeze his nose as he unenthusiastically wipes it off his face. 

It's an unforgiving landscape. All of it. 

How does anyone, _anything,_ survive here. 

Soon enough they're in their snow vehicle. He stares out the window. He doesn't like looking out at it, but there's nothing else to see. It drudges on and on. He watches on with empty eyes, but thoughts rattle about in his skull. The woman looks on in concern. 

He finally speaks. 

"Sonia?"

"Yeah, Hop...?" 

... 

"I want to visit Lee."


	7. Neonate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why does it mean so much to me- where I come from?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recommend Hold and Dusk by HOME as more great songs that encompass the tone and emotion I wanted to display in this fic. 

He's been here for 5 minutes now, contemplating if he should just run away again. He checks the busted screen of his phone again, it displays 19:07 through the cracked glass. 

_ Sonia took you back all the way here. Here, in Wyndon. Roserade Cross, where Lee lives. And you walked through that front door and stood in that elevator and now you want to run away? _

  
  


He sighs. 

And takes a deep breath. 

Then presses the doorbell. It rings as he adjusts the wool collar of his jacket. 

He can hear the door unlock and is met with the bright grin of his brother. Leon opens the door enthusiastically. 

"If it isn't Hop, hey!" he gestures for Hop to come in, then closes the door once the boy shuffles inside. 

"Don't worry, Sonia said you'd be stopping by."

Hop only stares off absentmindedly, his usual smile is gone. He grips the strap of his bag tightly. 

Big brother is interrupted before he can speak. 

"Lee?" 

"Yeah?" 

  
  


"... Can I sleep in your room?" 

He's surprised. It's a Friday, and Hop would usually never want to sleep this early, he thought. Wouldn't he want to stay up late and play videogames? Eat junk food they'd easily both burn off anyway? 

  
  


"Sure, buddy." his smile softens. "Wouldn't you rather have a shower first though? I can run one for you." 

The boy takes a handful of his shirt and sniffs it. He sighs. 

  
  


"... Yeah. Lemme put my stuff away first." 

  
  
  


\--

  
  
  


Hop drenches himself in hot water. 

It takes a considerable amount of strength just to reach for the shampoo, instead of just letting the water wash over him. But he'd rather wash out the grit and memories instead of letting it stay. 

Water trickles down his body. He looks to his feet. 

He can't look at it. He doesn't want to look at it. Not like actually catching a glimpse would make a difference, though. He knows it's there. The image of that marking still rattles about in his brain. 

He stares at his dirty hands again. 

  
  
  


\--

  
  
  


He opens his eyes to a blank place. It's spacious, and a turquoise gradient makes its way up, coming from below. Bubbles rise up. He follows them with his eyes, a light smile slipping onto his face. It's…  _ serene. _

They graze against his bare skin every so often and it tickles. He stifles a laugh. 

His hair sways with the waves and he looks up. 

_ Those bubbles… I want to go where they go.  _

They travel up and up and up into the darkness. But they're so  _ carefree.  _

He tries to swim upwards, but something yanks him back down. Something grabs his ankle.

He struggles and squirms but is only pulled down by more black tendrils constricting him, consuming him. He can only scream and cry and reach out to the bubbles sauntering upwards. 

They don't care about him. 

  
  


He shoots up, starved of oxygen. His chest rises and falls dramatically as he gasps for air and pupils narrowed to pin-needles survey the area. 

He clutches onto the plush fabric of his duvets.  _ Lee's _ duvets. 

He's at home. _ As at home as he's ever been. _ He thinks. 

This place is warm, but it's not welcome.

Still, where else  _ could _ you go?

Back home was the last place he wanted to be.  _ With mother, someone he was even less comfortable confiding in now.  _

_ Lee was his only option.  _

  
  
  


He sighs. 

He reaches behind him and traces  _ it.  _ This is all  _ its _ fault. This is all  _ your _ fault. 

  
  


He grits his teeth. Hands shift to claws. 

_ I hate you…. I hate you. I hate you I hate you I HATE YOU!  _

He smothers the indentation with his fingernails. 

Rubbing it raw. Scratching at its image. 

He grunts out of frustration. 

He flops back into the pillows to smother and suffocate it. Lee probably heard him. He shuts his eyes. 

He's scratched at it so badly. 

He hopes the barcode has become something intangible, unreadable. 

He wants it to be entirely illegible. 

He wants it removed. Removed off his very soul. 

  
  
  


_ He can't sleep. _

If I do, those things will come for me again. They'll strangle me, squeeze me. I'll be discarded and very  _ dead.  _

So he gets up and walks to the kitchen. 

It's 12am and Leon is sat comfortably in a barstool by the kitchen island. He's sifting through paperwork, accompanied by the dim ceiling lights. He perks up by the sound of small feet wandering down the carpeted hallway. Soon enough those small feet slap their way onto the kitchen tile. 

Hop heads straight to the cabinets by the fridge. He grabs a pot of vitamins. Leon watches on with not much bother. 

  
  


One gummy. 

Two gummies. Okay, so he's being healthy today. 

Three gummies. Erm… 

Four-  _ okay.  _

He walks over and takes the pot out of the boy's grasp. 

"Hop? You shouldn't have that many."

Hop opens the fridge instead and grabs a pint jug of chesto berry juice and drinks it (from the carton) all the way to the kitchen island. He sits down and sips from it, lazily. Leon can only look on like a confused parent trying their best to understand an infant. 

_ Hop…. I've never seen him this bad before…. well, aside from…  _ ah! 

Leon sits down beside him.

"Hop… uh…"

He clears his throat. "Sometimes, when you're low down it can be tough to ask for help getting back up."

Hop side-eyes his brother and drinks quieter to listen. 

"-But I want you to know you can always ask me for help! You can talk to me." 

Hop takes a final sip before returning the carton to his gripped hand. His eyes glitter, just as they did this morning. When he was filled with just a little bit more hope. A lot. A lot more hope. 

Before.  _ Before all of this mess.  _

  
  


"Really…?"

  
  


_ Does…. he know how I feel?  _

  
  


He takes another light sip. 

"Yep! Don't hesitate to visit the battle tower either! It'll be open before the champion cup, you'll have plenty of time to-" 

He chokes on the juice he's drinking.

Some spills over the kitchen floor. Leon is alarmed and reaches to smack Hop's back, but his hands are only shoved away. 

Hop stumbles off his barstool and onto the carpet. He's coughing loudly. 

"That's not what I-  _ cough  _ mean-  _ hck-  _ Lee!" 

He stops coughing.

  
  


"I don't  _ care _ about battling anymore!" 

"Oh… Well, if it was something during your studies-?" 

_ He shakes his head wildly. "No!" _ he interrupts, out of breath. 

"It's not that either! I thought  _ you'd _ know! I was at the Crown Tundra-- with Sonia!" 

"Yeah… she told me." Leon replies with the same amount of cluelessness. 

Hop feels something snap. 

He growls and shouts. 

He approaches Leon as he does so. 

He gestures wildly. 

"Well, I saw it… all of it! Okay?! The lab, the test tubes, the experiments that came from  _ hell-knows-where  _ and should be locked up FOREVER _ ,  _ the people who let this awful  _ SHIT _ happen-- It's all open, IT'S NO LONGER A SECRET HELD FROM ME!" 

He's practically screaming in Leon's face. And Leon actually looks afraid. Shocked, that his little brother would raise his voice at him. To such a  _ degree. _ His eyes dart around, but still focus on Hop's face. He trembles slightly. 

Leon doesn't reply. Little brother grabs the fabric of his shirt and pulls him forward with all his strength.

And yet he's barely able to make Leon lean forward and look down. 

Tears prick at Hop's eyes. 

"Is this all I am?! YOU??! Why- WHY?! Why was I born?? Why was I CREATED?? WHY DO I EXIST HERE WITH YOU IF THERE'S ALREADY A LEON??" 

_ Leon doesn't reply. _

"WHY??" 

He's shaken violently. 

"ANSWER ME!!" 

  
  


_ He can't speak.  _

Little brother breaks down. He sobs into Leon's shirt. His hands… they're nothing more than tiny mittens clinging on as hard as they can to the large man that towers over him. 

  
  


"… Is this all I am… some… number?" 

  
  


Dark violet hair hides his face. He speaks, looking to the ground, but simultaneously at nothing in particular. 

"I tried-  _ so _ hard… for so long, to be like you.  _ To be you.  _ A-and just when I start to move away from that… I'm brought all the way back to you….? Why…?" 

Leon only finds himself standing there. Statue-esc. Staring down at the young boy with a barcode on his neck. 

"You…. Pepin #89…. is….. is that all I am?" 

  
  


He shuts his eyes, 

his forehead firmly planted against Leon's chest. His arms lay slack against his sides. He's tired. 

  
  
  


"P… Pepin…?" 

Hop slowly opens his tired eyes to stifled breathing. Leon's chest rises irregularly. 

"Of course it was… _this_ …..I'm so oblivious….."

He shakes his head, stray hair flaring about. Leon reaches out for Hop's shoulders slowly to push him away. He turns away with a pained expression and sits back at the island. Hop looks to him with puffy, confused eyes. 

  
  


"I'm… so sorry. To both of you."

Leon leans over the counter, forehead resting against his right hand. He closes his eyes, and holds his head to think. 

  
  


"Pepin….. Pepin is a  _ person?"  _

Hop stands behind his brother. Confusion and despair mix and warp and that's the only conclusion he can come to. 

  
  
  


_ "Was." _

  
  
  


"He was."

  
  
  


Hop stands there, his legs feel heavy. 

  
  
  


Leon won't elaborate. 

  
  
  
  


Hop swallows the anger still fresh on his tongue and walks to his brother's side. He sits beside him. 

His own red face peers into Leon's. He's a mess, all of a sudden. 

-The way he grips at his bangs and furrows his brows and scrunches his eyes so tight to not allow a single tear out. 

Hop wishes he would. 

It annoys him, getting angry like this. 

He wishes Leon would at least be honest with his own emotions, and understand him when he was honest with his. 

  
  


Lee sniffles. 

"Sorry, I'm- sorry. Seeing me like this-" 

"No. It's- It's fine, Lee."

His grip on his bangs tightens. 

"No, I mean. I just- I feel like I'm hijacking what you had to say and-" 

"It's…. just- go on."

He was equal parts frustrated and sorrowful. Angry that he did not feel heard. 

The crease of his eyebrows meets in a irritated expression and his eyes squint. 

  
  


Lee takes a few breathes. He opens his eyes again. 

It feels like for the first time in a decade he has no idea what to say. What to start with. How to elevate the mood and eliminate all doubts.

He opens his mouth to start several times, but hushes himself. 

He's supposed to be a golden statue of examples. And yet he can't do that right now. 

Hop waits patiently. He eyes for the first time, an utterly speechless Leon. 

  
  
  
  


"Pepin…. was my twin brother. We lost him when we were only four."

  
  
  


Hop looks dumbfounded. Distraught. 

_ Brother?  _ How come he had never heard of him before? To remove any instance of a child existing within a household, he had felt that. But-

Nothing? 

Of a dead child? 

  
  


"Wh- but- but? Mum never-" 

Lee shields his eyes from Hop with his hands. They grow wet. 

"I'm- I should've told you. I just-- I didn't understand it,  _ any  _ of it at the time."

Lee sniffles and sucks air through his teeth. 

"It's all so blurry- we met with these people in the tundra- and Mum seemed to think if we did this… then maybe…. maybe…" 

  
  


"We'd have another Pepin."

  
  
  


Hop's jaw drops. 

  
  


He refers his hands back and forth, gesturing at himself, to Lee, then to himself again. "But- b-but I'm Leon! I'm you!?" 

It comes out as nothing shorter than a plead. He hated the thought of being Leon. He despised it. But he was surely not a….a……

  
  


Leon slowly turns his red face to Hop. 

"You were……. supposed to be him."

  
  
  


_ A replacement.  _

  
  


He feels his legs grow cold as they hang limp off the stool. His hands grip his shorts. He can't feel his fingers. He can't feel his legs. 

His reality spins and he's sure he could be sick. 

He didn't think this could get any worse. 

A copy. He was distraught enough in having to follow Lee all over again. But… 

  
  


A  _ replacement?  _

  
  


It's disgusting. 

_ He's  _ disgusting. 

  
  
  


"I'm….  _ I-I'm… _ " 

His figure shakes and he turns to the side. He finds himself weeping uncontrollably. The tears don't stop coming, they drown out his face and flood his eyes- 

He's not sure who he's crying for. 

"Hop-" Leon pleads. He gets up. He wraps his arms around his brother and rests his chin behind Hop's shoulder. 

  
  


"I-I'm Pepin…" 

"No.  _ No- _ you're not."

  
  


It's all swirling. It's vile. 

He was trampling over the grave of the deceased, just by existing. 

He didn't ask to be born. He didn't ask to be created. _He didn't ask to_ _fill the hole in a family's heart and cause palpitations._

Leon hugs tighter. 

  
  


"You're… you're Hop. You're my  _ brother.  _ You're not me or Pepin or some clone- you're just-". 

  
  


"You're… you." 

  
  
  
  
  


_ You…  _

Is not someone he's found easily. 

_ How many years have you spent urgently gripping to someone else's name, someone else's identity? Even without knowing it?  _

_ Even now, just today?  _

  
  
  
  


He isn't sure who  _ you _ is, but… 

  
  
  


They stay. 

They hold one another. Not out of desperation, but for something warm and calm. 

  
  


Until it flickers to 1am.

  
  
  


Hop yawns. 

Lee pulls away. Hop still looks uneasy, but somewhat content. 

  
  


"Tired? Even after those gummies?" he chuckles, a little awkwardly. 

"That took a lot out of me…" 

Hop looks like he could just flop over and sleep. Lee smiles. 

"Yeah…… but- are you ok?" 

  
  


Hop looks off somewhere. 

He sighs. 

"I…. don't know…" 

  
  


"That makes two of us, I guess." Lee replies after a short while. 

  
  
  


… A wave of silence parts them. It's still awkward but… not hostile. 

  
  
  


"Lee?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I wanna go to bed now…" 

Lee nods. 

He picks up the boy sitting just barely under his chin. He was happy in being able to hold Hop like he did years ago.

Some things don't change… he's glad Hop is still baby-brother-picking-up-size.

  
  


\--

  
  


Hop presses his cheek against a soft pillow. It's a soft serenity. And he's decently comfortable despite being a little unamused when he was first told to shift to one side of the bed instead. 

  
  
  


"I….. think I did the wrong thing…" 

"What's that?" 

Hop mumbles half to himself, half to Lee, who's just walked into the bedroom with his pyjamas on. He closes the door behind him softly. 

  
  


"Down there, in the lab… there were these  _ things……. _ they scared me real bad so I hit them and ran away…" 

Hop shuffles his feet about over the duvets. 

"I'm sure they were meant to be what I am… but….."

  
  


He curls up. 

  
  


"I was just so….  _ Angry……"  _

  
  


He hadn't the time to think about it in the moment, and perhaps it was his deepening self loathing, but… 

He meant it. 

He felt despair for them-

_ Even if they tried to kill him, it's not like he didn't try that as well.  _

Approaching him like that… were they in pain? An existence like that definitely looked so. 

_ Were they jealous? Jealous of him?  _

He empathises with that.

As the only successful clone, does he owe them more than a child who just runs away? 

  
  


"It's not your fault." 

  
  


Hop's brought out of his thoughts. He turns around to Lee still standing by the door. Leon brushes the clothes slung and folded over his forearm. 

"It's…. not any of our faults that this happened. Not yours, not mine, not those things', and not Pepin's…. That's how I want to go about seeing this." Leon remains stern in place with his eyebrows tense. 

Hop just lays there. He eyes Leon in his despair. A frown still covers his lips. He's...not convinced. 

Lee puts down the clothes and sits on his side of the bed. He leans on his arched knees, facing the end of the bed. 

"I don't know if I will ever understand where you come from, but…."

He casts a reassuring frown towards Hop. 

"You can still rely on me. It's the least I can do as a big brother."

  
  


Hop turns his back to Lee and nestles his face back into his pillow. 

"Thanks, Lee." He says, with genuine happiness- a tiny grin slips onto his face as he closes his eyes. 

  
  


Leon smiles slightly. "Now get under the covers, I'm cold."

  
  


Hop's whine quickly saunters off into soft snores as they have perhaps the most well-deserved rest in a long while. 

  
  


Not all was well, but… 

_ He could rely on big bro.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> despite writing over 11,000 words for this I still can't express how happy I am that people have read and stuck with this fic. it means a lot to me aaaa  
> this was my first real experiment to see if i could plan out and consistently write chapters for a fic, and it turned out better than i had hoped. got to stretch my graphic skills too!  
> also i'll probably be posting my concept doodles for apery on my instagram (@roseltheteacup) so look out for that lmao
> 
> so, again, thanks to everyone who read apery! hope you enjoyed my introspective on hop's character with twists and turns and the like ;) wink wonk


	8. Bonus Chapter (Concept Art and Stuff)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who wants to hear me ramble on about this fic (with accompanying concept art.)
> 
> Contains Spoilers!

The concept for Apery was actually based off a reddit post written by my good friend Shamza. You can read it [here!](https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemonconspiracies/comments/flivah/hop_actually_is_a_clone_but_hes_not_one_of_hau/)

She's actually also the co-writer of [Phanthop!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21593872/chapters/51487468)

I find this kinda amusing since origin wise Apery and Phanthop are opposites. I originally came up with the concept for Phanthop and Shamza actually writes the chapters, and vice versa for Apery. They're also written from the perspective of each of the brothers. 

Thematically wise I wanted Apery to be an extension of Hop crawling out from under Leon's shadow and fame that canon provides, but also throw in that 'yo what if he was a clone too' with the questions that Mewtwo Strikes Back provided:  _ Who am I? Why was I created? Does it matter where I came from?  _

That's also where the idea of Pepin came from. It's essentially the same general idea as Ambertwo: a child dies, their parent mourns and research into cloning ensues.

I felt like there needed to be a good enough reason for Hop to be a clone in the first place. That's the only thing that was lacking in Shamza's post. Pepin was the perfect explanation without having to tie it to in-game plot stuff like Eternatus or whatever _I thought t_ _ hat might've just made Hop's clone origins a little impersonal to begin with wkdnwjne _

__

__

__

Pepin is based off a hop bud!  _ As he kinda should.  _ It's also just an evolution of Leon's hair with the tuft on top just being a bigger stalk. His name comes from Pepin the Short, a French king who supposedly once owned a hops garden. I also just thought the name was cute lol _(also if you read the first letter of each chapter you may find something interesting B) )_

Bud just takes from a generic flower bud and Clem originally was from clement until I realised there was already Clemont. But his name can also just come from clematis so we'll go with that. 

As for the setting, I was a little bit concerned that once the dlc was actually out it would put a hole in the plot, but after playing it I don't think that's the case. For reference the crown tundra came out halfway through writing chapter 7. The tundra could be way bigger irl or in a fanfic and Sonia was on her way there anyway, so it checks out. I just needed the placement of the lab to be inconspicuous, hidden and  _ cold.  _ At the point of planning I think I already knew Sonia would be in the crown tundra and writing her as the mom friend is wholesome.

The blops (blob+hop, throughout scripting I referred to them as such because it was easiest lmao) are curious in my intentions too. They're technically not supposed to have a defined form because different people find different aspects of body horror scary, so I wanted the reader to form their own image of the blops. It's also more terrifying if you don't know what you're looking at exactly. 

For my own reference I did sketch some stuff up for them. These are not gospel though, any interpretation is interesting. 

I found out since writing [Brother Beast](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21295790) that I do describe body horror quite well and it's just kinda interesting to me even if I find actual visuals to be really unsettling. If I had to pinpoint the inspirations of the blops they'd be Resident Evil and Sweet Pool (I am a big baby I haven't actually played RE lmao but Sweet Pool is a RIDE it's legitimately a horror game) as well as my general distaste for bodily functions.

Grey characters who seem human in their imperfections interest me. I tried to keep everyone in Apery away from being black and white. Everyone's supposed to be sympathetic in some way, I think. 

It's also important to me that I kept the blobs' fate undetermined. 

The logo for Apery was actually entirely a misunderstanding. It comes from what I originally thought Hop’s shirt looked like. It’s actually a boltund but for some reason I interpreted it as a figure in a fetal position. So I kinda designed it myself but I also didn’t? It’s weird lol but I still use it on my personal Hop character design as well as the logo for Apery and the Pepin Project.

It’s not a secret that I really like both Hop and Leon and their dynamic in canon gives me a lot to work with. Turns out I just like angsty strained family relationships in fiction. Hop and Leon have spent close to a decade apart from one another in swsh and only now do they seem to be healing that in postgame.

For the record I don’t think Leon is a bad brother. He’s just emotionally stunted due to the mantle he had to hold as champion from such a young age, and unfortunately that’s impacted how he handles his relationship with Hop. I tried to get that across best I could in my writing. Hop's taking the first steps into their relationship being better again by approaching Leon first. I think the fic kinda flips them on their heads and what you’d typically expect from them- Hop being exposed to a mature truth and how he reacts to that, then through the reveal it shows just how ill-equipped and emotionally immature Leon is. I had to have them make up in the end since I honestly can never see myself writing a Hop that actively resents Leon, I think their relationship is too important to me for that. 

And Leon’s end conclusion for Hop is important.

_ "You're… you're Hop. You're my brother. You're not me or Pepin or some clone- you're just-".  _

_ "You're… you." _

Is something I think Hop’s been needing to hear throughout swsh, really.

(old chapter seven graphic)

(new chapter seven graphic sketches)

Apery and all my fics play a part in my venting, honestly. Apery just has more in terms of feelings and thoughts a depressed person may have, regardless if you find out you’re the replacement clone of a dead child or not. I wanted to delve deeper and magnify Hop's feelings of hopelessness and self-loathing he had in swsh. They're also why I know Hop’s arc in swsh spoke to so many people, so this is my strange way of giving back to that. 

And I think that's that! But if I'm forgetting anything, I feel like the fic speaks for itself a lot haha

This was my first 'real shit' fic with multiple chapters planned out and I'm proud I actually managed to finish it. It took me, what, five months? I know it's not the work I'm most well known for, but it's an achievement nonetheless. Thanks for reading! 💜💜


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